Refrigeration



y 1941- D. G. SMELLIE 2,241,624

REFRIGERATION Filed" July 20, 1958. 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I III! HISGII mh INVENVI'OR Donald G. smezzze ATTORNEY May 13, 1941.0 D. G. SMELLIE REFRIGERATION Filed July 20, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Donald G Smellz'e Ftiy ATTORNEY y 1941- D. G..SMELLIE 2,241,624

REFRIGERATION Filed July 20, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IINVENTOR flonald a. Smellie 3 .7 By Q ATTO RN EY May 13, 1941. p. G; SMELLIE 34L REFRIGERATION Filed July 20, 1938 4' Sheets-Sheet 4 9 95 II I I II 93ml INVENTOR Donald G.-5mellz' ATTORNEY Patented May 13, 1941 REFRIGERATION Donald G. Smellie, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 20, 1938, Serial No. 220,20

25 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating systems and more particularly to evaporator structures particularly adapted for use in absorption refrigerating systems.

' Heretofore it has been" customary to provide refrigerating systems with trays in which water is frozen in the form of cubes or small blocks of ice. These systems had the disadvantage that the trays adhere with considerable force to the supporting shelves in the evaporator and a large percentage of the ice must be melted in order to release the ice' cubes. Accordingly, it is an-object of this invention to provide a refrigerating system in which ice is frozen in the form of small blocks which are readily removable individually and collectively from the refrigerating mecha- It is a further object of this invention to provide a large body of cold water which is exposed to the air within the box to maintain the humidity therein within reasonable values.

It is another object of the invention to provide a refrigerating system in which a large body of. cold drinking water is always available.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a refrigerating system which is provided with a movably. mounted water tank so con! structed and arranged that a plurality of ice blocks are frozen on the wall of the tank after which the tank is shifted bodily for a small dis- 'tance and other ice blocks are formed while those originally formed. melt free of the wall of the water container. v

It is a further object of the invention to provide a refrigerating'system which is controlled. in response to box temperature conditions and which relates the rate of ice freezing to the rate of heat transfer from the storage compartment; that is, the rate of ice freezing will increase with increases in ambient temperature.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

. nected to form a plurality of gas and liquid cir- V Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of a modified form of the invention;

Figure 6 is a view taken along the'line 6-6 0 Figure 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure '7 is a view taken along the line 'l| of Figure 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of a third modification of the invention;

Figure 9 is a view taken along the line 99 of Figure 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

' Figure 10 i a view corresponding to Figure 8 I sorption refrigerating system-comprising a boiler B, an an'alyzer D, a rectifier R, an air-cooled condenser C, an evaporator E, a gas heat. exchanger G, an absorber A, a weak solution reservoir S, a liquid heat exchanger L, and a circulating fan F driven by an electrical motor M. The elements just described are suitably interconcuits which taken'together comprise the complete system.

The refrigerating system is suitably charged with a refrigerant such as ammonia, an absorbent such as water, and an inert gas such as nitrogen or hydrogen.

The boiler B is heated by any suitable .form of gas burner II which is provided with a safety cut-off device l2. The burner II is supplied with fuel from the line l3 through a solenoid valve l4 and a conduit l5. A by-pass I6 is provided around the valve to provide a small supply of gas which will be sufficient to maintain an igniting flame on the burner ll.

- The boiler B normallycontains a solution of refrigerant in an absorbent which will liberate refrigerant vapor when subjected to heat. The" refrigerant vapor liberated in the boiler passes upwardly through the analyzer in counterflow relationship to strong solution flowing downwardly therethrough. Absorption solution vapor generated in the boiler condenses in the analyzer, the heat of condensation serving to liberate further refrigerant vapor from the strong solution. The refrigerant vapor is conveyed from the analyzer to the condenser C through aconduit 2| which includes an air-cooled rectifier R. The rectifier serves to condense any vapor of absorption solution which may pass through the analyzer. The weak solution formed in the boiler by the generation of refrigerant vapor is conveyed therefrom into the upper end of the aircooled absorber A through a conduit 23, liquid heat exchanger L, and conduit 24. It is apparent that the upper portion of the absorber is at an elevation considerably above the liquid level normally prevailing within the boiler-analyzer system; therefore, it is necessary to provide an elevating device for the weak solution. For this purpose a conduit 25 is interconnected between the discharge conduit 26 of the circulating fan F and the conduit 24 at a level below the normal liquid level prevailing in the boiler-analyzer 'sys tem whereby the weak solution is elevated into the absorber by gas lift action. The weak absorption solution flows downwardly through the absorber in counterflow relationship to a refrigerant vapor pressure equalizing medium mixture flowing upwardly therethrough. The weak solusure equalizing medium is placed under pressure in the fan and is discharged therefrom through a conduit 26, gas heat exchanger G, and conduit 33 into the bottom portion of the evaporator E which will be described more fully hereinafter. The pressure equalizing medium circulates upwardly through the evaporator in counterflow relationship to liquid refrigerant flowing downwardly therethrough. The liquid refrigerant is supplied to the upper portion of the evaporator through a conduit 35 which connects to the bottom portion of the air-cooled condenser C. The refrigerant liquid evaporates into the pressure equalizing medium to produce refrigeration, and the resulting rich mixture is returned to the gas heat exchanger through a conduit 36. The rich pressure equalizing medium is conveyed from the gas heat exchanger to the bottom portion of the absorber A through a conduit 31. The rich mixture passes upwardly through the absorber in counterfiow relationship to absorption solution in the manner described previously.

Electrical energy is supplied through a pair of wires 39 and 40. The line 40 connects directly to the motor M and to the solenoid valve l4. The line 39 connects directly to one contact of a thermostatic switch 42. The thermostatic switch 42 is connected by means of a wire 43 to the circulating motor M and the solenoid valve M. The arrangement is such that closure of the switch 42 simultaneously energizes the motor and the solenoid valve whereby refrigerant vapor is generated in the boiler and the fluids in the system are circulated by the fan. The thermostatic switch 42 is preferably positioned within the storage compartment of the refrigerator to be responsive to the temperature thereof. A demand for refrigeration corresponding to a rise in box temperature causes closure of the thermostatic switch 42 and .energization of the refrigerating system.

The evaporator E will now be described in detail in connection with Figures 1 to 4. The evaporator comprises a lower low temperature coil I section 46' which is connected to an upper icefreezing coil section 41 by a riser conduit 48. The evaporator section 46 is illustrated as comprising four coil sections whereas the evaporator section 41 is illustrated as comprising two coil sections and a transverse front section joining the two. A conduit 49 extends between the section 46 and the strong solution conduit 29 to drain excess refrigerant from the evaporator. The evaporator sections 46 and 41 are completely encased in insulating material 50 which is shaped to form a freezing compartment 5|. Interiorly the freezing compartment is defined by an inner wall 52 which is in thermal contact with the lower coil section 46 and is spaced and insulated from the upper coil section 41. The upper coil section 41 is provided with a plurality of spaced freezing pads 54 which project upwardly through the top portion of the insulating material 50.

The side and end walls of the casing 5| extend upwardly slightly beyond the top portion of the insulating material 50 to form a depression 55 therein. A water tank 56 of lesser length than the depression 55 is mounted therein. The water tank 56 is provided on the sides and ends thereof with downwardly extending flanges 58 which are lined with packing material 59. The packing material rides upon the upper end of the side walls of the casing 5| and seals the depression 55 from the atmosphere within the refrigerating compartment. This tends to prevent accumulation of frost within the depression 55. A slight amount of heavy oil, enough to insure that a thin film of oil will be maintained, between the freezing pads 54 and the bottom of the tank 56, is maintained in the depression 55 in order to prevent the tank 56 from freezing to the freezing pads and to permit the tank to be moved readily. The front and rear flanges 56 extend longitudinally beyond the tank 56 a distance equal to the diiference in length between the length of the tank and the length of depression 55 whereby the tank may be shifted longitudinally of the depression 55 without breaking the seal between the flanges 56 and the side walls of the casing 5|.

In order to operate the water tank 56 an electric motor 66 is secured in any suitable manner on the rear wall '34 of the refrigerating cham ber of the refrigerator cabinet. The electric motor is provided with a suitable reduction gear ing, not shown; which actuates a crank arm 6|. The crank arm 6| is plvotally connected to a connecting rod 62 which is pivotally mounted at 63 on the rear flange 58 of the vessel 56. Power is supplied to the motor from a pair of supply lines 64. The motoris internally provided with a suitable reversing mechanism or with a suitable cutoff mechanism of known type which will operate to de-energize the same after the crank 6| has rotated through an arc of 180 degrees in either direction. A motor control housing 65 is shown mounted 'on the front portion of the vessel 56; the housing 65 may equally well be positioned on the rear, side, or within the vessel 56. A pair of stationary contacts 66 and 61 are mounted upon and insulated from the housing '65. The contacts I56 and 51 are connected to the motor by wires 68 and 69, respectively, A thermostatic bellows 10 is rigidly supported within the housing 65 and carries a contact II which is adapted to close the circuit through either of the stationary contacts *66 and 81, Contact 'II is connected to the motor 80 by a wire "I2. The bellows I is connected to a thermostatic bulb I3 which is mounted within the tank 58 in position to be contacted by ice blocks frozen on the bottom forward position thereof.

The operation of this form of the invention will now be'described. Assuming that the temperature in the storage compartment of the refrigerator is such as to demand refrigeration, the

thermostat '42, will close and energize the circulating motor M and the burner whereby of the lower ammonia concentration in the inert gas circulating therethrough. Theinsulation provided in the compartment 5| prevents frost from forming thereon and permits the coils 46 to reach a very lowtemperature suitable for freezing desserts, for example. coils 46 will reduce thetemperature of the compartment 5| to a low value at which it will be maintained by reason of the insulation provided therefor. The refrigeration produced in the upper'coil section 41 will cause blocks of ice to freeze within the water in the tank 56 on those portions of the tank bottomwhich are in direct thermal contact with the freezing pads 54. The ice will continue to be frozen in the bottom of the tank 58 until the ice blocks formed above the freezing pad 54 on the front portion of the evaporator coil have frozen around the thermostatic bulb I3. When the thermostatic bulb 13 has been frozen into the ice block,'the bellows III will contract and close the circuit through the contacts Id and 61 which will energize the motor 88 in such fashion as'to cause the tank 56 to be pushed forwardly to the position shown in.

Figure 2. When the tank reaches its forward position, the motor 68 will automatically deenergize itself and will remain in de-energized condition until the'bellows ID has expanded sufficiently to close the circuit to the contacts 88 and II. When the tank reaches its forward position, the ice block which has frozen around the bellows 13 has been removed from proximity to the freezing coil and immediately begins to melt free of the bottom of the tank 58. The bulb I3 is positioned laterally with respect to the ice block which will build up over the front pad 54 as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The arrangement is such that the ice block cannot immediately float to the surface of the water in the tank 58 when it is'melted free of the bottom thereof, bu|t it must remain in contact with the bulb I3 2. period of .time sufficient to permit it to rock around the bulb I3, as shown in Figure 4, where-. upon it will float to the surface of the water in the tank. When the bulb I3 is disengaged from actual contact with ice, it begins to warm and eventually will expand the bellows sufliciently to close the circuit between the contacts 66 and II. whereupon the motor will be energized and will draw the tank 58 to its rearmost position which will again bring the bulb I3 in position directly above the front freezing D d-54.

In short, it will be seen that my evaporator freezes a plurality of spaced blockso'f ice within Normally, the

a body of water whereupon the tankcontainin the body of water is shifted with respect to the freezing pads to remove the previously frozen ice from contact therewith and to bring fresh areas of the tank bottom into contact with the freezing pads. The previously frozen ice blocks then melt free of the bottom of the tank and float to the surface of the water therein from'which they may conveniently be ladled out and used as v desired.

Referring now to Figures 5 to '1, there is dis- The evaporator coil is provided with a plurality, six being shown, of freezing pads 83 which project above the insulation 8|. The side walls of the casing 82 extend upwardly beyond the upper portion of the insulation 8| to form an an nular .depression which receives a downwardly projecting annular portion of a cylindrical freez-' ing tank the bottom portion of the tank 85 \is provided with overhanging sealing flanges 86.

which engage the wall 82 to seal the depression in the insulating material 8| from the atmosphere within the refrigerator, This depression is also provided with a body of low temperature oil for reasons fully developed in connection with Figure 1. r

This form of the invention is provided with a drive motor 68, crank 6|, connecting rod 82, pivotal connection -83, corresponding. to the elements 88 to 83, inclusive, described in connection with Figure 1 with the exception that the motor 60' rotates the water tank 85 whereas in connection with Figure 1, the tank was shifted longitudinally. The bottom central portion of the tank 85 is provided with a downwardly projecting sleeve 81 which receives a rigidly mounted shaft 88. The weight of the tank 85 is carried by the evaporator coil 80; the guide post 88 merely serves to maintain the annular projecting portion of thetank 85 in a central position with respect to the evaporator coil whereby it does not bind when rotated by the motor.

An electrical switching mechanism and thermostatic control mechanism is carried by. the bottom portion of the tank 85 within the area enclosed by the ring-shaped evaporator. These elements correspond exactly to elements preembedded in the top portion of the compartment 5| described in connection with Figure 1.

In operation, ice freezes above the pads 83 unti1 the thermostatic bulb I3 is frozen in sufficiently to contract the bellows I0 and to make I the circuit through the contact 61 and I I which will energize the motor 88' to cause it to rotate the tank 85 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. The connecting rod 62' and the crank 6I' are so proportioned that the tank 95 will be shifted a short distance, sufficient to remove the ice blocks from the areas affected by the pads 83. This will allow previously frozen ice blocks to melt away from the freezing pads so that they may float to the surface of the water in the tank 85. The arangement of the bulb I3 corresponds to the arrangement of the bulb I3 described in connection with Figure 1 in order to prolong the melting period for one of the previously frozen ice blocks, a length of time suificient to permit ice blocks to freeze over the freezing pads in the position of the tank 85 not shown in Figure 5.

Referring now to Figures 8 to 10, there is 11- lustrated a third modification of the invention. In this form'of the invention the tank, the evaporator coil, the insulating structure and the sealing structure are identical with those disclosed in connection with Figures to 7 and are given the same reference characters primed. In this form of the invention, the tank 85' is rotated by a thermostatic mechanism without the aid of a prime mover corresponding 'to the electrical motors 60 and 69' previously described. Three equally spaced webs 90, 9| and. 92 project inwardly from the casing 82' to the center of the cylindrical tank 85' and carry at their junction a guide mechanism similar to the guide mechanisms 81, 88 described in connection with Figures 5 to '7, The webs 90, SI and 92 are equally spaced apart around the circumference of the ring-shaped evaporator coil 89. A pair of thermostatic'bellows 95 and 96 are rigidly carried by the central bottom portion of the tank 85'. The bellows 95 and 96 are pivotally connected to actuating arms 91 and 98, respectively, which pass through suitable openings in the web members 90 and 92, respectively. The actuating arms 91 and 98 are provided with enlarged heads on the sides of the web members 99 and 92 opposite to their respective actuating bellows whereby contraction of either bellows will tend to pull its associated web 90 toward the contracted'bellows. The bellows 95 and 96 are provided with freezing bulbs IlII and I62, respectively. The bulbs IIII and I02 extend into the bottom annular portion of the tank 85' in position to be contacted by ice blocks frozen therebelow. The positioning of the bulbs IIII and I92 is such that one or the other is always in position to be frozen into one corner or the other of an ice block frozen above the freezing pads marked P.

The operation of this form of the invention will now be described. In Figure 8, the bellows 96 has just contracted by reason of the bulb I02 being frozen into an ice pad. The contraction of the bellows 96 has rotated the tank 85' in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 8. The rotating force is exerted through the bellows and the actuatingelement 98 which engages the stationary web member 92. This movement of the tank 85' has shifted the previously frozen ice block away from the freezing pads 83 and has brought fresh areas of the annular portion substantially equal and opposite forces tending to move the same. However, if the bulb- I92 is freed of contact with ice before the bulb "II is frozen to contract the bellows 95, the'bellows 96 will merely expand and the actuating element 98 will slide through the associated web member 92 without tending to impart movement to the tank 85. When the bellows I62 has been freed of contact with its associated ice'block and the bellows IOI has been frozen into its associated ice block, the bellows 96 will be. expanded, and the bellows 95 will have contracted to shift the tank 85' in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 10. The above described cycle is then repeated; that is, the bellows 95 and 95 alternately expand and contract and in so doing they rotate the tank 85' back and forth through a small arc of movement thereby alternately freezing and releasing, ice blocks on certain portions of the bottom portion thereof.

Obviously, the tank could be operated by an expansible movement'of the bellows if desired. In this event, the actuating-bellows would shift its asociated bulb over a freezing pad. In the form shown, an actuating movement" of either bellows shifts the bulb associated withthe other bellows over a freezing pad. vWhile the bellows actuating mechanism has been disclosed only in connection with a rotary tankit is obvious that such an actuating mechanism could be utilized to shift other types of water tanks.

It will be obvious that all the modifications of the invention above illustrated and described may be applied to any type of refrigerating apparatus; an absorption apparatus was selected merely as an example of one embodiment of the invention.

The freezing mechanisms above described have the great advantage that ice is alternately frozen in different areas of the freezing tank of the same evaporator section and without in any fashioninterfering with the interior mechanism of the refrigerating system for example, by diverting fluids from one circuit therein into another.

This mechanism entirely eliminates all valve and internal switching mechanisms whereby the refrigerating system may be conventional provided that the evaporator coil carries spaced freezing pads upon which a water tank may be rested. v

The rate at which ice is formed is a function of the ambient temperature for the following reasons. The ambient temperature will determine the frequency at which control mechanism will energize the refrigerating system and the length of time required for the refrigerating mechanism to lower the box temperature to the desired value. Therefore, rate of ice freezing will be high in hot weather and low in cold weather. This is a con- 'venient arrangement because the demand for ice is greatest in hot weather.

The water tanks, which may be finned if de sired, are continually swept by the air within the refrigerating compartment and so as to maintain the temperatures within that compartof the tank 85' into contact with the freezing ment at safe values for preservation offoodstufis'.

Also thelarge exposed surface of the body of water serves tofmaintain the humidity within the refrigerating cabinet within reasonable values. If desired, a loose fitting cover may be placed over the tank 56 to prevent accidental contamination of the water therein contained by material being dropped into the tank. The cabinet may have a top opening to allow access to the ice cubes floating within the tank such as that disclosed in the co-pending application of Curtis 0. Coons, Serial No. 161,563, filed August In summation it may be said that my invention provides a mechanism whereby a plurality of ice blocks are available, freely floating withprovide cold drinking water.

While I have illustrated and described three embodiments of my invention. it is not limited thereto but may be embodied in numerous other modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended'claims.

I claim:

1. Refrigerating apparatus comprising an evaporator, an ice freezing tank mounted to contact said evaporator at a plur ity of spaced points, and means operable to s ift said tank with respect to said points in order to release previously frozen ice therefrom and to cause said evaporator to freeze ice at newly selected points. v 2. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cool ing unit,. a movably mounted water tank in heat exchange relationship with portions of said cooling unit, and means for changing'the relative f positions of said tank and cooling unit, said means including thermostatic means actuated by formation and melting of ice in said tank.

3. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, a movably mounted water tank in heat exchange relationship with portions of said cooling unit, and means for changing the relative positions of said tank and cooling unit, said means including thermostatic means having a portion within said tank, the portion of said thermostatic means in said tank being so positioned that an ice block frozen therearound must melt sufficiently to pivot about said portion and between said portion and the bottom of said tank to float to the surface of the water in said tank.

4. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, a movably mounted water tank in heat exchange relationship with portions of said cooling unit, and means for changing the relative positions of said tank and cooling unit, said means including thermostatic means having a. portion within said tank in position to be frozen into a nice block adjacent an edge thereof.

' 5. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads on said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezing pads, and means for periodically altering the relative positions of said tank and said cooling unit, said means comprising a. pair of temperature responsive elements connected to shift said tank in opposite directions. v

6. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a coolingmedium through said unit, a' plurality of freezing pads on said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezing pads, means for periodically altering therelative positions of said tank and said cooling unit, said means comprising a pair of temperature respon'-' sive elements connected to shift said tank in opposite directions, each of said temperature responsive elements comprising anvexpansible bellows fixed to said tank, a connection between said bellows and a fixed element, and a bulb element mounted within said tank, said bulb elements being positioned in such fashion that actuating movement of either bellows shifts one of said bulbs in position to' be contacted by ice formed in said tank above one of said freezing pads.

7. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads on said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezing pads, and means for periodically removing the portions of said tank in heat exchange relationship with said pads out of heat exchange relationship therewith. I

8. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads on said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezing pads,

means for periodically altering the relative positions of said tank and-said cooling unit, and

means responsive to the formation of a predetermined depth of ice over said freezing pads for controlling said altering means.

9. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads on said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezing pads,

and power-driven means. for periodically shiftingsaid tank with respect to said freezing pads.

10. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads 'on said cooling unit, a' water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said freezingpads, power-driven means for periodically shifting said tank with respect to said freezing pads, and means constraining said tank to longitudinal movement. 4

11. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for circulating a cooling medium through said unit, a plurality of freezing pads on, said cooling unit, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with saidfreezing pads, power-driven means for periodically shifting said tank with respect to said freezing pads, and

means constraining said tank to axial movement.

12. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, a plurality of freezing pads projecting from said unit, means enclosing said unit except for the ends of .said pads, a water tank movably mounted in contact with said pads, and means closing said cooling unit.

material and out of heat exchange relation with said chamber, and a movably mounted water tank in heat exchange relation with said last mentioned portions of said cooling unit.

16. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a refrigerating compartmenha cooling unit in said compartment, a water tank mounted in heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit at a plurality of points, mechanism for automatically shifting the position of said tank when ice has formed to a predetermined depth at said points, and means responsive to the demand for refrigeration in said compartment for controlling said cooling unit.

17. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler and an absorber, aninert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, a water container in heat transfer relationship with said evaporator at a plurality of points, means for periodically changing the relative positions of said evaporator and said container to break the heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and aid container at said plurality of points to permit previously formed ice blocks to melt free thereof and to establish heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at a plurality of other points to produce anew group of ice blocks.

18. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler and an absorber, an inert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, said evaporator including an ice-freezing section and a fast freezing section, an insulated compartment receiving said fast freezing section, a water container in heat transfer relationship with said ice-freezing section at a plurality of points, means for periodically changing the relative positions of said ice-freezing section and said container to break the heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at said plurality of points to permit previously formed ice blocks to melt free thereof and to establish heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at a plurality of other points to produce a new group of ice blocks.

19. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler and an absorber, an inert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, said evaporator including an ice freezing section and a fast freez-' ing section, said ice freezing and fast freezing sections being so-arranged that the inert gas flows through the fast freezing and ice freezing sections in that order and the refrigerant liquidflows through said sections in counterfiow relationship to the inert gas, an insulated compartment receiving said fast freezing section, a water container in heat transfer relationship with said ice-freezing section at a plurality of points, means for periodically changing the relative positions of said ice freezing section and said container to break the heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at said plurality of points to permit previously formed ice blocks to melt free thereof and to establish heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at a. plurality of other points to produce a new group of ice blocks.

20. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler and an absorber, an inert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, a water container in heat transfer relationship with said evaporator at a, plurality of points, means for periodically changing the relative positions of said evaporator and said container to break the heat transfer relationship between said vevaporator and said container at said plurality 01. points to permit previously formed ice blocks to melt free thereof and to establish heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at a plurality of other points to produce a new group of ice blocks, said last mentioned means including thermostatic control means responsive to the formation of ice blocks to control the periodic change in the relative positions of said evaporator and said water container.

21. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler anQ an absorber, an inert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, a water container in heat transfer relationship with said evaporator at a plurality of points, means for periodically changing the relative positions of said evaporator and said container to break the heat transfer relationship between said-evaporator and said container at said plurality of points to permit previously formed ice blocks to melt free thereof and to establish heat transfer relationship between said evaporator and said container at a plurality of other points to produce a new group of ice blocks, a refrigerating chamber housing said evaporator and said water container, and means responsive to the thermal condition of said chamber for controlling the production of refrigeration by said evaporator.

22. Absorption refrigerating apparatus comprising a solution circuit including a boiler and an absorber, an inert gas circuit including an evaporator and said absorber, means for supplying refrigerant liberated from solution in said boiler to said evaporator in liquid phase, said evaporator including an ice-freezing section and a fast-freezing section, an insulated compartment receiving said fast-freezing section to refrigerate the interior thereof, a water container I in heat transfer relationship with said ice freezsaid water container.

container at a plurality of other points to proof said container which is in heat exchange reduce a new group of ice blocks, said ice freezing section being embedded in the insulation of said compartment except for those portions thereof which are in heat transfer relationship with 23. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for-supplying acooling medium to said cooling unit, a water container having a on the inner surface of that portion of the wall of said container which is in heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit, means movably imounting said container to allow movement thereof to remove one area of the wall thereof out of heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit and to establish heat exchange relationship between said cooling unit and another area of the wall thereof, an electric-motor operatively connected to said cont ainer for.moving the same, and control means for said motor arranged to energize the same to move said container when a predetermined amountof ice has formed on the inner surface of that portion of the wall thereof which is in heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit.

24. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, means for supplying a cooling medium to said cooling unit, a water container having a limited area of the wall thereof in heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit to form ice on the inner surface of that portion of the wall lationship with said cooling unit, means movably mounting said container to allow movement thereof to remove one area of the wall thereof out of heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit and to establish heat exchange relationship between said cooling unit and 'another area of the wall thereof, thermostatic means operatively connected to said movable container for moving the same when a predetermined amount of ice has formed on the inner surface .of that portion of the wall thereof which is in heat exchange relationship with said cooling unit;

25. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a casing element of insulating material, a freezing chamber formed within said casing, a cooling unit, portions of said unit being embedded in said insulating material in heat exchange relation with said chamber, other portions of said cooling unit being embedded in said insulating material and out of heat exchange relation with said chamber, said last mentioned portion of said cooling unit including heat conducting means projecting to the surface of said insulating material, a movably mounted water tank including a surface exceeding the area of said heat conducting means in heat exchange relation with said heat conducting means, and means operable in response to the. formation of ice within said water tank for movingsaid tank with respect to said heat conducting means.

' DONALD G. SMELLIE. 

